Novocaine
by Floydgoneawry
Summary: Because everyone loves a girl who wears glasses.


Miyuki Takara awoke from a broken sleep to a perfect  
morning and was already dreading the day to come.  
The sun was beaming in through her window and cast  
the morning light onto the plush carpeting of her room.  
Miyuki was lying warm and safe in her bed with the  
covers pulled tightly around her; shielding her from  
the cool air.

"We'll get your cavity taken care of as soon as  
possible so you can enjoy this break," her mother had  
decided the day before, "I know that one tooth has  
been giving you problems."

Miyuki was thinking about this as she lay staring at  
her clock on the nightstand.

Her pillow and comforter were warmed by her body  
heat and any unnecessary movement caused her to  
touch an un-warmed portion of the bed. This sudden  
contact with the cold would make her shrink further  
into her sheets and curl into a tighter ball.

"We're going to try a new dentist," her mother  
continued, "this one may not cause as many problems  
as the last one."

'Oh Mother,' Miyuki reflected now, 'it doesn't matter  
which one it is; they'll all still be dentists.'

Miyuki silently slid out of bed and into her soft pink  
slippers to protect her feet from the cold floors. Her  
glasses, which had been waiting patiently on her  
nightstand, were picked up and delicately slipped  
over her eyes. She shivered slightly as the chilly nose  
and ear pieces came into contact with her skin. The  
girl wrapped her yellow robe around her matching  
nightgown and stepped out into the hall, making a  
straight line to the kitchen downstairs where Miyuki  
made herself a breakfast of orange juice, toast, and  
a soft boiled egg.

While nibbling lightly on the toast, she gently  
massaged her left cheek where the offending tooth  
was throbbing mercilessly. Afterwards, the dishes  
went into the washer and Miyuki went upstairs to  
brush her teeth, make her bed, and change out of her  
nightclothes into her school uniform.

The day passed slowly and the notes that were  
meant to be written, neatly and completely, in Miyuki's  
composition book were still waiting to be released  
from the stilled pen that was currently suspended  
between heaven and earth by the unfocused hand of  
the pink-haired school-girl. The disempowering throb  
was gaining strength as the day wore on. Her eyes  
remained on the clock which quietly ticked away the  
seconds, unknowingly bringing Miyuki closer and  
closer to her appointment.

Nevertheless, the afternoon found the young  
high-school girl preparing for the cold trek to the  
dentist. As she wrapped her scarf around her neck  
and pulled her hair so it would avoid being caught in  
the thick piece of pink fabric, she wondered if she  
could still get out of the visit.

The train ride was long, uncomfortable, and it gave  
Miyuki a chance to think back to her conversation with  
Tsukasa that very day.

"Maybe this will be like the dentist we dreamed of,"  
Tsukasa said hopefully, "maybe it will be designed  
just for you."

Miyuki could only sigh at this.

'Always the optimist,' she thought, 'if only I could be  
that lucky.'

Though it was unnoticeable to any of the other  
passengers on the train, tears began to well in the  
girl's eyes and her bottom lip trembled slightly.

'This can't be it,' Miyuki thought as she stood in front  
of what appeared to be an ordinary one story house.  
It was painted white with light blue trim and was  
surrounded by round green bushes that were neatly  
hedged and cared for. The lawn was green and the  
grass was thick like a carpet covering the cold earth  
despite the winter climate. She matched every figure  
on the address plate to the one written on the slip of  
paper her mother had given her, and then she  
checked it again. With no other choice, the young girl  
placed her hand on the door-knob, turned, and,  
surprisingly, the portal opened a tiny bit. She  
hesitated a moment before opening the door  
completely to reveal a quaintly decorated foyer which  
served as a waiting room.

Miyuki checked in with the receptionist, hung her coat  
and scarf on the coat rack by the door, and then took  
a seat in one of the two large comfortable chairs that  
helped give the office a welcoming look. She waited  
nervously in the empty room with her bag in her lap.

'Something's wrong. There's something missing from  
all this.'

The young girl took a moment to peep around, trying  
to pinpoint the uncanny in this particular office. With  
tiny movements of her neck, she looked high and low.  
Miyuki almost looked like a little pink-haired owl.

The receptionist was seated behind a counter that  
faced the waiting room. He was a young man with  
blonde, shoulder length hair. Miyuki could not  
distinguish his height or age, but he was thin and  
graceful. Almost feminine. He wore a light blue collared  
shirt and a pair of glasses with rectangular frames  
that only enhanced his dark green eyes. He was  
silently looking over his work laying on the counter  
before him.

The foyer looked like any other sitting room; it had  
potted plants, a rug, a couch, two chairs, and a coffee  
table with magazines on it. Miyuki had taken out a  
book of her own to read, but when she saw that,  
unlike other offices, there was also a small bookshelf  
with leather-bound volumes ranging from mystery to  
romance, she giddily crouched and skimmed over each  
gilded title with shining, spectacled eyes. Happily, she  
ran a finger over each one trying to decide which  
would be her best choice for such a disappointingly  
short period of reading time. Just as she found and  
removed the perfect book, the receptionist called her  
name.

"Ms. Takara?"

Miyuki looked up with a start.

"The dentist will see you now."

Miyuki stood, replaced the tome with at deep feeling  
of regret and sorrow for never having a chance to  
even open its cover, and walked through another  
doorway separating the waiting room from the exam  
room.

Upon entering, she was met by someone who caused  
her heart to skip. Already seated by the patient's chair  
was a handsome young man with bright blue eyes  
and auburn hair. He wore brown trousers and a grey  
turtleneck sweater underneath his white lab coat.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Takara. Would you please take  
a seat?"

Fear of the dentist was suddenly replaced by a slight  
attraction as she approached the chair. She placed her  
hands on her skirt to preserve her modesty as she sat  
down and the dentist offered a helping hand as she  
turned to lie back in the reclined seat. Her head  
touched the cushion of the surprisingly comfortable  
chair, and Miyuki suddenly realized what had been  
missing: the familiar smell of the dentist's office.

Instead of the harsh odour of medicine and sanitized  
surfaces, she could only smell the faint scent of his  
cologne which subtly lingered in the room.

"How are you doing today Ms. Takara?" he asked as  
he washed his hands in the sink next to his chair.

"J-just fine," she replied, beginning to relax ever so  
slightly.

"This shouldn't take too long; just a checkup, cleaning,  
and then I am going to take a look at that tooth your  
mother said was bothering you. Now, don't be afraid,  
but I'm going to disappear behind this," he put the  
surgical mask over his mouth and then removed it  
quickly to reveal a charming smile that made Miyuki  
giggle, "but it's still me."

Something about his smile made her relax during the  
normally terrifying procedure. This little display of  
humour calmed her and, as he prepared for the  
checkup, Miyuki began to feel her defenses lowering.

"I'm going to need to take these off," he said,  
referring to the girl's glasses.

She laid perfectly still as he slid the frames off of her  
nose and placed them somewhere on the countertop  
behind her. Even though the world became fuzzy, she  
could still clearly see the soft outline of his face to her  
right.

He laid the paper bib on her chest and she lifted her  
head so he could drape the small chain that held it  
around her neck. While withdrawing his right hand, he  
barely grazed the side of the girl's left breast. A jolt of  
electricity serged through her from head to toe, but  
the dentist did not seem to notice the change in  
Miyuki's expression.

"I'm going to apply some cocoa-butter to your lips  
to keep them from drying out. Is that alright?"

Miyuki said yes and he gently rubbed a cotton-swab  
over her lips causing her to instinctively purse them  
together. It tasted sweet and slightly bitter. She  
released a breath she did not realise she had been  
holding and inhaled the delightful smell of the  
cocoa-butter.

He took up the cleaning pick and began.

The scraping went on for about five minutes before  
the dentist put down the metal pick and held up the  
polisher. He went on to clean her teeth and she  
drifted into a state of semi-consciousness. The  
polishing almost felt like he was gently and lovingly  
caressing each tooth.

"Have you been flossing Ms. Takara?"

"Not often," Miyuki confessed, slightly ashamed. It is  
not as if she would forget or simply refused to floss,  
but this particular girl was afraid to. She tried a few  
times and quickly stopped the moment she saw blood  
appear on her gums.

"Do you think you could start? You have a beautiful  
smile and I want you to take better care of it."

'I'll do whatever you want me to,' Miyuki thought  
while nodding her head.

Miyuki took this time to admire him. Through the open  
lab coat she was able to see how tightly his sweater  
clung to his firm chest and stomach. She saw the look  
of concentration in his eyes and felt each smooth  
movement he made with the polisher. It was as if she  
was the only person in the world to him right now.  
Her heart was pounding in her ears so loudly that  
she worried that he might hear it.

"Now, Ms. Takara, would you mind if I took care of  
that cavity?"

'You may do anything you want,' she thought, but her  
real answer was another head nod.

"Ok, just relax. You're going to feel a little sting."

Miyuki held perfectly still as he injected the anesthetic  
into her lower jaw but she still gasped when the  
needle broke through her gum. His gloved hand  
gently massaged the area with care. The smell of  
latex stung in her nose, already made sensitive by  
the bitter cold outside.

"That will just need a few minutes to set in. How are  
you feeling?"

Miyuki just gave a tiny smile and then the dentist  
continued.

"I see you just came from school. Which do you attend?"

"R-ryōō High."

"You must be a very hardworking young lady if you go there."

The school-girl flushed at the compliment, but the  
dentist continued his work without noticing. Her jaw  
and tongue began to go numb as he examined the  
tooth in need of attention. The weak anesthetic  
combined with the stress related lack of sleep that  
this visit had caused started making her feel drowsy.  
The room was warm and she felt safe sitting in the  
chair so close to him.

"This shouldn't take too long. Are you alright?"

Miyuki nodded lazily.

"I need you to keep you mouth open wide for me."

She made an effort to open her mouth as far as she  
could, but, in her dazed state, she slowly allowed it to  
close again.

"Ms. Takara, please try," the dentist said as he  
stroked her cheek to coax her jaw open.

Again, Miyuki tried to force her mouth open, and,  
again, it slowly closed. She felt the dentist slide his  
finger into her mouth and, when he removed it, she  
could keep her mouth open with ease.

"So, let me guess; you're a third year."

Miyuki slowly nodded her head with half-closed eyes.

"Do you like it there? Just answer by blinking once for  
yes and twice for no."

She blinked once in response.

"Good, I'm glad."

Time passed in much this same way; he would ask a  
question and she would reply with the appropriate  
amount of blinks. The procedure did not take long,  
and the dentist was soon rinsing out her mouth  
where he had filled the small hole.

"You did really well Ms. Takara."

"You were really gentle."

"We're finished."

"We can't be finished."

"There's nothing left for me to do."

"But I need you… I have another cavity that needs to be filled."

Miyuki opened her legs slightly.

"We can't…"

"But I love you."

"Ms. Takara?"

"Please, call me Miyuki."

The dentist leaned in and a slight pressure was taken  
from Miyuki's mouth.

"Ms. Takara?"

"You're so cute," she said while preparing for a kiss.

"Ms. Takara, wake up."

Miyuki's eyes popped open completely and she looked  
at the dentist with confusion.

"You fell asleep for a little bit. I had to put a tooth  
pillow in your mouth to keep it open."

The dentist held up the small foam cube he had gently  
placed in Miyuki's mouth before the procedure, "We're  
finished. You're going to feel numb for some time so  
be careful not to bite your lip or tongue for a few  
hours. Are you here by yourself?"

Miyuki slowly nodded as she reflected on the events  
that had just transpired.

"I wish I had known you would have such a strong  
reaction to the anesthetic so I could have made sure  
your parents were here. Be careful going home. Stay  
in the waiting room for a little while if you need to.  
Here are your glasses. I will see you again in six  
months for your next checkup."

Miyuki's head was light and fluffy as she slid out of the  
chair and slowly walked to the door. As she slipped  
her glasses back on, she began to worry.

'Did I really say those things? What was I thinking?  
It wasn't my fault, I was asleep. Maybe he couldn't  
understand what I said because of the pillow. I hope  
he didn't hear me.'

"Oh, and Ms. Takara?"

Miyuki turned to look with wide, frightened eyes.

"It's flattering that you think I'm cute, but we should  
probably keep our relationship as professional as  
possible."

Miyuki turned bright red from head to toe, her hands  
shot up to her open mouth as if to stifle a scream and  
tears immediately formed in her eyes as she turned to  
dash out of the room. She only stopped long enough  
in the foyer to pick up her coat and bag before  
running out into the street for her station.

The dentist walked into the waiting room just in time  
to see the door slam closed.

"You broke another one's heart didn't you?" the  
receptionist asked knowingly.

"I may have sweetie," he replied quietly before  
turning to walk into his office, "I may have."

The next day at school before the first bell, Tsukasa  
saw Miyuki sitting at her desk, desperately trying to  
focus on her textbook.

"How was the dentist yesterday Yuki-chan?"

The red came back to Miyuki's soft face, tears began to  
form again in her eyes and she let her head fall quickly  
to the desk behind her arms to hide her embarrassment.

"I'm never going back there again!" she exclaimed from  
behind her crossed arms.

Tsukasa could do nothing as she frantically tried to  
think of a way to console her friend.

'Was it that bad?' she thought, 'was it something I said?


End file.
